As the Fresh Prince astutely noted in 1987, girls ain’t nothing but trouble.
Am I right, Matt LaGrone and David Pa’aluhi?
Pa’aluhi, a star linebacker, and the one LB of the current corp who could make an NFL impact, quit football to go home and pursue a military career in order to support his girlfriend and child. Matt LaGrone followed suit and left for Reno to be with his wife and daughters.
The problem I have with these decisions aren’t football related. The team will recover. Tony Wilson looks like a very good player; Taylor Henry, equally adroit.
My issue is with these women. Why are they not willing to stand by their men and support them as they pursue a dream? Granted, I have no idea of the details, but I do know LaGrone’s wife said she did not want to move to Corvallis. If I were pursuing a dream, and the woman who mothered my children said that, I’d probably be done with her. No, I know I would. Not only is she dictating this man’s life, but she’s being short-sighted in passing up (potentially) thousands of dollars in an NFL career. Now she has a man in Reno with no college degree, no possible NFL career, and presumably no prospects. And Matt Lagrone agreed to this. Shame on him.
Pa’aluhi is a tougher case. Fewer details, military “dreams”…(did he always dream of his or did he simply wake up and decide he needed the money?). Tough call, a more sensitive situation, and with fewer details. I’m not going to grill this guy as much. Being from Hawaii, at least Pa’aluhi girl would have had a culture to leave behind…it’s more understandable if she doesn’t want to move, and on top of that Pa’aluhi has some options.
But boy are these men whipped. Unless football wasn’t a dream of theirs they’ll wind up regretting this long after these girls are out of their lives–let’s face it boys, the divorce rate is astronomical and these don’t exactly sound like healthy, supportive relationships. Unless they’re trying to play the “good guy”/”real man” card, which is nothing more than a euphemism for guilt/pressure to support their kids. But the best support for those kids would be a loving, understanding wife and an NFL career.
As far as spring ball, this is the only real news worth discussing so far. I don’t think the QB battle is much of one unless Katz goes down. Lalich simply looks out of place and uninspired. Katz has the “it” factor the position has lacked since Jonathan Smith, or maybe Matt Moore’s senior year.
From the outside looking in, you are right it is puzzling. I mean it is not like they will be committed to OSU football for the rest of their lives. We are only talking about a year or two. Not to mention, they are giving up a free college education.
I wonder what Riley is really thinking. I mean it is family and lunch pail U. Why are these guys bailing?
Is this the downside of signing “good guys”? Isn’t Lagrone and ordained minister?
Looks like you need to sign average guys somewhere between priest and thug. Lagrone only had until December…8 months left on a free college degree. Puzzling is an understatement.
“My issue is with these women. Why are they not willing to stand by their men and support them as they pursue a dream?”
Its not even just a “dream” they are losing, its a practical future. All these guys are left with are 0 prospects and dead-end jobs. With this economy people can’t afford to not have a college degree. It is completely short sighted.
On the other hand we have no idea what situation the mothers/kids were in and maybe they needed some support fast. But i donno, you would think you would try to make it work in order to have a better future in the long run.
Beaver players should really consider dating girls on birth control or pro-choice because this shit needs to stop lol
Beavgirl, that is hilarious. I lost my coffee.
Wow, good to hear that Katz looked that good. Did you catch today’s practice then?
No, but I did see Katz in person in game action, which is a lot more valuable than practice. I also am perceptive, and Lalich is out of place–though, you don’t have to be perceptive to realize that.
You are right about the QB battle – Lalich has to be WAY better than Katz to get the nod with only this year of eligibility left…nothing to develop him for. I watched Katz in Pullman (yes, I was one of the 300 in attendance) and he looks good in live action. Moves well, throws well. He’s our guy.
The exodus of Lagrone hurts. We took so long to get any sort of production at all from our DE’s, and it finally looked like we had some talent by seasons’ end, save the dismal group performance v. BYU. With three starters out, we are YOUNG and inexperienced at LB/DE. Again.
Say goodbye to Akuna’s redshirt.
I think Lalich has two years of eligibility, actually.
But he still won’t get the nod, mainly due to personality–we’ve seen in the past where a quiet/standoffish temperament gets you with these coaches (see Hardin). He’s an east coast guy through and through. I think he’ll make a fine backup…if I were him I’d transfer somewhere that’s a better match. The guy has NFL talent and measurables; it would be a shame to see him relegated to the bench for two years. Katz, though less prototypical, is the better fit for the Beavers.
I was in attendance at Pullman too. I thought he had good footwork, and made positive yards where most recent OSU qb’s would have lost them. He was accurate for the most part. His TD pass in the ugly LV bowl was nice, particularly in those conditions.
I just wish for once, a Riley qb who’s been in the system as long as Katz has, or Canfield was, could step in and not have an upside down td:int ratio….here’s hoping.
I think Katz will be that guy.
He has all the tools, intangibles, and has been in the system 3 years with a little playing time. I am not worried at all about QB…defense is the worry.
Lalich does have better touch which is big because so many passes are short ones to Quizz and James. Katz is going to throw a lot of deflection picks if he doesn’t learn to put some touch on the ball. Riley describes Lalaich as more cerebral… so I wouldn’t count him out.
I think Riley just said that Lalich is cerebral, not that he is “more cerebral” [than Katz].
Katz seems like a playbook junkie. He’s been studying it for 3 years and graduate HS early to do so.
Saw on Scout that we pulled in a JC CB. Ryan Habdford from Santa Ana CC.
He looks like too much of a ball-hawk for our ‘let them catch it over your head while you watch them’ defensive scheme. Nice tackler though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdmxwu6XbYQ
You know, it’s hard to tell how good a CB plays based on tape most of the time. But this kid has a nose for the ball, and he seems to be in on every play. How did he end up with us?
I saw this.
He looks good.
The weird thing about that video is that it says it’s just him (#3), but a guy wearing #15 is making a lot of the plays. Whoever #15 is looks better, but #3 is pretty good. Looks like a Bryan Payton/Coy Francies hybrid.
The #15 is him too. I think it’s a this year/last year deal.
I wonder which year is which…he looks better as #15 to me.
I’m going to take second in the brackets. One of the local sportscasters is one point ahead of me, and he has Duke to win it all also. The only person who had WVU in the Final Four had whacked out brackets except in the West… where it would have helped her.
So I get my money back. 36 brackets at $5 a piece, and second place gets $10. Bah!